New Executive Leadership at Major Health Systems
Several major health systems have announced leadership changes. Penn Medicine named Michael D. Barber as CEO of Lancaster General Health. Separately, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist appointed Dr. David Zaas as its new president. These appointments reflect an industry-wide focus on finding executives with experience in operational excellence and strategic growth.
- Dr. David Zaas's prior leadership as president of Duke Raleigh Hospital and CEO of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Health Charleston Division involved overseeing complex academic medical centers, aligning with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's goal of creating a health innovation corridor from Winston-Salem to Charlotte. - The shift to outpatient imaging is accelerating, with projections showing 14% growth in advanced imaging and 10% in standard outpatient imaging over the next decade, driven by reimbursement changes and payer site-of-care restrictions. Health systems are responding by acquiring, developing, or entering into joint ventures for freestanding imaging centers to capture this volume. - Consolidation is reshaping the radiology landscape; between 2014 and 2023, the number of radiology practices with 100 or more radiologists increased by nearly 350%, while the number of practices with fewer than 25 radiologists declined significantly. - Persistent staffing shortages, with over 85% of hospitals and outpatient facilities reporting challenges, are driving radiology departments to adopt new technologies and workflow tools to manage rising imaging volumes and improve patient throughput. - The FDA has cleared more than 1,000 artificial intelligence tools for radiology, and the industry is now shifting focus from standalone algorithms to integrated AI platforms that embed into existing PACS and RIS workflows to improve efficiency without causing "tool fatigue" for radiologists. - Major mobile imaging equipment manufacturers include GE Healthcare, Siemens, and Philips, while key service providers competing for health system contracts include Alliance HealthCare Services, Mednax Services, Inc., and Shared Medical Services. - Proposed CMS rules aim to continue rebalancing reimbursements away from hospital-owned settings toward freestanding outpatient clinics and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to promote higher-value care, adding hundreds of procedures to the ASC covered list.
